An explosion at the Greater Chennai Corporation’s (GCC) bio-gas plant in Chinna Sekkadu, located in the Manali region of Chennai, resulted in the death of one worker and left another injured on Saturday, February 15. The blast occurred late at night while the workers were finishing up their tasks inside the premises. The cause of the accident is yet to be determined.
The deceased has been identified as 30-year-old Saravanakumar, who was working as the plant’s operations engineer. Bhaskaran (35), a driver at the facility, sustained burn injuries and is currently receiving treatment at Government Stanley Medical College Hospital.
According to reports, both Saravanakumar and Bhaskaran were inside the plant’s Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) room, also known as the control room, around 10 pm when the explosion took place. The impact caused a wall to collapse, trapping Saravanakumar under the debris, while Bhaskaran suffered burns due to the blast.
Officials from the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health, who inspected the accident site, stated that a gas leak from a nearby plant could have led to an accumulation of gas inside the control room. It is suspected that an electrical spark within the room may have triggered the explosion. However, the exact cause is yet to be ascertained.
The Greater Chennai Police have registered a case and launched an investigation to determine the circumstances leading to the incident.